I Would Be Your Slave

Summary: Dreams inspired by something familiar in the lyrics of an unfamiliar song draw Sarah back into the Labyrinth where she takes part in a much greater adventure than she'd ever imagined.

One Obsessed Fan

Sarah stood outside the door of room 12D waiting for her friend, Lenna, to
get out of her theatre-dance class. She knew it would take a few minutes more
than usual because of the trip to the mall that had come up so suddenly on
their lunch break that they now planned to take after school.

You see, Lenna had a habit of wearing jeans and a t-shirt to school, but
this wasn't her true choice in style. The jeans and t-shirt were merely far
easier to dance in than the elaborate get-up that she insisted on
wearing when going out for anything other than dancing. I mean, really, have you
ever tried dancing in go-go boots?

About ten minutes later, out popped Lena in a black-lined plaid dress that
stopped about mid-thigh, made complete with a pair of black knee-high klonkers
and a pair of fingerless, scraggly, black-lined plaid opera gloves. She also
wore a black-lined plaid choker with a ruffly, lacey black strip running along
the bottom. Her dyed-black hair was streaked with a brilliant red that she had
applied only days before.

Sarah smiled and shook her head, grateful that her own style wasn't so
complex.

"Quicker than I'd expected," she remarked, looking at her watch.

Lenna grabbed Sarah's arm and pulled it towards herself so she could check
the time for herself. "Woo!" she screamed, letting go abruptly.
"Record time!"

Sarah laughed as they began the trek to Lenna's old, beat up Ford. They
dropped their stuff in the trunk upon their arrival, then went to climb into
the front.

"So, this mall trip is awfully sudden," said Sarah. "What
David Bowie album is debuting today?"

Lenna grinned. "You know me far too well."

Sarah smirked. "You've only been prancing around the dorm talking about
nothing but the new David Bowie album for the past month.
Unfortunately, you failed to mention the name."

"Outside is the name of the glorious album that's arriving on
the shelves this wonderful day," Lenna informed her in an incredibly
dramatic tone, sighing wistfully.

Sarah shook her head. "Girl, you've got it bad for him," she
laughed.

Lenna gave a dramatically sad smile. "Forever doomed to live
vicariously through Iman, I'm afraid," she said before cranking up the
stereo. Let's Dance blared jubilantly through the brand new speakers.
Sarah loved Lenna's priorities. The car was practically falling apart and you
had a hit or miss chance of the engine actually starting, but her friend was
sure to have the best stereo system that her hard-earned and long-saved money
could afford. In fact, if it were between eating and playing David Bowie on the
best system out there, Sarah had a feeling that Lenna would starve.

After twenty David-Bowie-filled minutes of driving, Lenna pulled into the
mall parking lot and shut off the car. The next thing Sarah knew, Lenna was
miraculously half way across the lot, darting towards the mall's main doors.
Sarah had just barely unbuckled her seatbelt at this point. Lenna's speed would
have astonished her if she hadn't witnessed it first-hand countless times
before.

Normally, she would have rushed to catch up, but she knew from experience
that it was safer to hang back and watch from afar when Lenna's
"mission" involved David Bowie. So Sarah moved at a normal pace,
being sure to make certain the car was locked before meandering to the front of
the mall and entering, making an immediate right upon walking through the
double glass doors and stopping at the window of the music store where she
proceeded to watch the mission unfold.

Lenna was reaching for what appeared to be the last copy of the new album
that she sought after. Sarah was happy for her friend until she saw someone
else reach for the exact same CD. Her face fell and the words "oh,
no" escaped her lips. However, it wasn't Lenna's safety that she was
concerned for. She was really more concerned for Lenna's police record. She had
a habit, you see, of getting a bit overzealous when she wanted something and
she tended to lose self-control. Sarah had, over their years of friendship,
witnessed Lenna issuing three broken noses, five black eyes, and the loss of a
chunk of flesh from one unfortunate person's hand. Suffice it to say, she
didn't need any more help getting into trouble with the law.

The girl opposite Lenna sneered something at her and Sarah could see
offended rage paint Lenna's face before she leaned dangerously close to the
other girl and whispered something.

Sarah had no clue what she'd said to her, but clearly it had hit just right
because the other girl let go of the CD and rose her hands in surrender.

She watched as Lenna slowly walked to the counter, petting and apparently
cooing at the CD. She also watched as the cashier reached for the album,
causing Lenna to pull it tight against her bosom protectively before
reluctantly handing it over to be scanned. She noticed how Lenna made several
gestures as she spoke something frantically. Sarah couldn't quite hear, but her
body language screamed "watch it! Be careful!"

Sarah could see the panic in Lenna's eyes when the cashier didn't bag the CD
and hand it to her right away. When the man produced another CD from behind the
counter, though, Sarah could see Lenna become mesmerized. Sarah's brow furrowed
curiously as she watched the exchange between the two. The man explaining
something to her (easy to figure out by watching his body language) and Lenna
nodding swiftly.

The cashier moved to hand Lenna the small plastic bag that contained her new
CDs and Lenna's hands struck out like snakes, grabbing the bag away and pulling
it tight to her chest again, holding it in an unbreakable, yet gentle grasp.

Sarah moved away from the window as Lenna neared the exit of the store.

"So, what'd you say to get that other girl to surrender the CD?"
she asked, far too curious to hold back. She had to admit, she was surprised at
the lack of violence in the encounter.

Sarah mentally rolled her eyes. Her poor friend. Her habit of blacking out
during these instances was the only thing that had gotten her sent to a
psychiatrist by the court instead of to prison. Why she'd thought that Lenna
would remember this instance, she
wasn't sure.

Lenna reached into the bag and pulled out a new album with Heathen written across the front, Outside apparently forgotten.

"Did you call to get that one held for you?" Sarah asked, brow
furrowed.

Lenna shook her head. "I didn't even know it existed. The store owner
found it in their recent shipment and, what with it being the only copy,
figured he'd set it aside for me so I could have first dibs.

"How strange."

"Yeah." Lenna sighed, a huge smile crossing her face as she stared
at the album cover.

"You're thrilled to be the first to get your hands on it, aren't
you?"

"Better than getting an album on release date."

Sarah laughed.

They decided on a drive-through for dinner on their way back to the car.
When they got in, Lenna pulled her Let's Dance album out of the CD
player, petting it and cooing at it as she put it safely back inside its case,
then popped her new Heathen album in and hit the random button. She
merely wished to get a taste of what Bowie had written for this album on the
drive home. She figured she'd listen for the story later on when she didn't
have a road to focus on.

Sarah stared at the album cover as Lenna got situated. "This isn't
gonna send us on a fast track to Hell, is it?" Sarah joked, trying not to
focus too hard on the eerie eyes in the cover art.

Lenna let out another wistful sigh. "I don't care if it does. The music
would be worth it," she replied, making a mental apology to God for her
response immediately after.

Sarah leaned back in her seat, listening to the soothing melodies of the
album. While she wasn't quite the David Bowie fan that Lenna was, she had to
admit that his music wasn't half bad. His voice wasn't the most gorgeous in the
world, but somehow it fit and the man certainly was unique with a wide range of
style.

"What do you want?"

"Huh?" Sarah asked, opening her eyes and discovering that they
were in the drive through line at McDonald's.

"What do you want?" Lenna asked again.

"Oh. Get me a double cheeseburger and a large soda. We can split a
large fries if you want."

"Works for me. What kind of soda?"

"Dr. Pepper." Sarah closed her eyes again as her friend began to
order. The song that currently played had her entranced, though she couldn't
figure out what it was that held her interest.

"Open up your heart to me, show me who you are, and I would be your
slave."

Something about it felt oddly familiar and she was having a hell of a time
pin pointing it. She mentally shrugged. She'd figure it out later. She felt the
car pull forward and she opened her eyes to help Lenna bring the bags into the
car. As the window rolled back up, she pulled out her burger and Lenna started
to move forward again.

A loud crashing sound startled Sarah and she found it strange that she was
unable to see where it was coming from as everything went back. She felt as if
she was falling into a deep, never ending pit of pitch blackness, but her fall
was slow and relaxing, similar to the way a rocking cradle would lull an infant
to sleep.

zoheusher20:
What more can I say? The writing style and little details drew me into the book and for the entirety of the story I was Juliet. I felt her turmoil and emotions and every trouble or triumph as they arrived. This story was very different and had quite a few little but unexpected twists that made it...

cato50802:
this book is truly well developed and truly captivating, I thoroughly enjoyed every part of the book. there are little to no grammatical errors, and the characters are very interesting. it’s one of those books that’s hard to stop reading!

N_F_G:
This story was fantastic! It was really enjoyable, and the characters and locations felt real to me as I read the story! Celeste was an amazing character, who survived all her struggles, and I felt the author did an excellent job writing about suicide and self harm- in a sensitive, authentic mann...

Diana Chernenko:
I liked this book. Even if the idea of book isn't so new. "girl that should save the world with her super powers." sometimes I thought that she is too overpowered, and I was sometimes really annoyed by her, and felt sorry for her friends and Derek. Moreover I didn't like first chapters when the...

Mary Abigail:
I have always been a serious reader but reading romance has always been an outlet for me to be happy and this, makes me happy. It's entertaining with just enough drama and maybe a bit more - I do need more.

Wendi Getz:
Very powerful and moving story! A great read, especially for young women. I loved how it pulled the reader down the slippery slope that is domestic abuse and gave us an inside view of how easy it is to end up in that situation.

Lauren Kabanyana:
It's simply amazing, the story is touching and has you captivated while reading! I loved it! Would read it over and over again. I applaud the way this book was able to evoke a mixture of feelings. I felt everything the two main characters felt from the start to end, i would recommend this novel t...

ArgyrisMetaxas:
Thrilling story which builds layer ontop of layer. A few mis spellings every few chapters.What I found special was that it took a modern day problem and took it to its logical conclusion and plays this realism with gritting precision. I'm always on edge ready to shout from adrenaline. This is gre...

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